WATERPROOFING
WHY BUILDINGS LEAK PART ONE Most new, large scale apartment dwellings are beset with waterproofing problems within the first three years of the building’s life. We find it is common for one-year-old high-rise apartment buildings to have leaking podiums, leaking windows, ponding water in bathroom floors or balconies. That’s just the first year. It’s not just residential buildings either. One large scale, high profile, commercial building finished in the last few years in Sydney had $100 million of water leak related defects manifesting before the building opened.
How is it that, in a sophisticated building industry with advanced reliable technologies in so many respects, we have such problems in keeping the water out? This article puts forward three propositions for addressing this question. Firstly, a discussion on the essential process flaw in our industry that allows these defects to occur. Secondly, how we can look at the design of a building more holistically to prevent water penetration defects. Thirdly, the quantity surveyor’s role in a more holistic approach to preventing leaks.
1. THE ESSENTIAL PROCESS FLAW Analysis of the defects in thousands of home units and many large-scale commercial structures informs my perspective on the main cause of water leaks and cracking in buildings. In my experience, 90% of leaks and cracks are due to design and design coordination issues. More precisely, I find the leaks and cracks occur at the gaps between professional inputs. Forensic analysis of actual leaks and also an examination of the original
BUILT ENVIRONMENT ECONOMIST - MARCH 2020 - 61
